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| Petrol or Diesel? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 17 2016, 01:10 PM (165 Views) | |
| madnursegaz | Dec 17 2016, 01:10 PM Post #1 |
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resin fondler
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SWMBO's Motability car is up for replacement in April '17, and it's time for us to order its replacement. Cars of many makes and models are available under the scheme, petrol and diesel, manual and automatic transmission. Since our first Motability car 9 years ago, we have always had diesels. The 1st FIAT Doblo and the current FIAT 500L MPW were both 1.3 Turbos (same engine, also used by Vauxhall and Suzuki!) and the Peugeot Partner Tepee a 1.6 Turbo. We have narrowed our choice down to either a Ford B-Max (Fiesta-based mini-MPV) or Skoda's Octavia. We could have a petrol-engined version of either with a hi-tech 3-cylinder 1 litre turbo motor, or a 1.5 diesel-engined B-Max. Purchase price is not a consideration, the diesel B-Max carries no advance payment, the petrol B-Max has to have £45(!) paid upfront, and the Octavia £145. The Octavia is obviously a much bigger car, but it is exceptionally economical to the point where even that is not a sticking point (I used the Daily Telegraph's "Honest John" Real MPG figures to compare) So, at last, the question! Diesel is becoming controversial, with cities around the world moving to ban diesel vehicles from city centres by 2025, London intending to remove diesel buses from the streets by 2018, doctors and health workers demonstrating in the streets against diesel. Is it time to move back to petrol, or is there another three years of diesel motoring before one becomes a social pariah for driving one? |
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| Olde Farte | Dec 17 2016, 01:55 PM Post #2 |
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Lt. Derek 'Smurfy' Reeve
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Personally I would go for petrol because they I worked at a bus garage for many years and can tell you how dirty white shirts would get just walking around early morning when the fitters had started every one up, just think of that crap in your lungs.. |
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| Mark M | Dec 17 2016, 03:04 PM Post #3 |
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Hawk T1
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We have both, and unless your doing lots of long journey s go petrol, the mpg / price isn't that different now. Before you choose, take a look at dacia its the best car I've ever had and the cheapest, all with a good follow up |
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| madnursegaz | Dec 18 2016, 10:17 AM Post #4 |
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resin fondler
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Thanks for the input, guys! You've pretty much confirmed what I already thought. With purchase price and trade-in not an issue, it's easy to just think that the high mpg of diesel cars makes them a better car for us. We get 55 mpg overall from our 500L, but the petrol ones give around 38-40 in the real world. Fuel economy is a major issue for us, so we've stuck with diesel. We make a round-trip journey of around 400 miles every couple of weeks, but apart from that most of our mileage is local urban work. Our other criteria for choosing a car are ease of getting in & out, and a BIG boot to hold SWMBO's mobility scooter or wheelchair, or the camping gear (not all at the same time!) However the new generation of hi-tech petrol tiny turbo engines is turning the conventional wisdom on its head, with Skoda's 1.2-litre Octavia(an outgoing model) delivering an average (real-world) 47mpg, with the promise of even better mpg from their new 1.0-litre! Ford's B-Max with a 1.0-litre power unit gives (real-world average) 45mpg. I will let you know what we finally choose, with pix when we get it! We haven't really looked at the Dacia, Mark, although perhaps we ought to. You see them everywhere in Europe, and I always think they must have more going for them than just price. I do remember when Top Gear went to Romania, and James May (supposedly) bought a Dacia Sandero as a gift for JC, May was quite impressed, although Clarkson was unmoved by it. I think the main reason we've not considered one is that Renault dealers sell them, and we don't actually have a Renault dealer local to us, when Ford, Vauxhall, etc have dealerships within 5 miles of us, and service & repairs become a chore if you have to drive 20 miles to the workshop every time . . . Real-world mpg figures are taken from the "Honest John" Real MPG website, which can be found HERE. |
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| Olde Farte | Dec 18 2016, 10:51 AM Post #5 |
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Lt. Derek 'Smurfy' Reeve
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Seriously look at a Japanese car, maybe more expensive but we've had our 12 year old Honda Civic 1600 auto for 10 years now and have never replaced a light bulb and the original battery lasted 10 years. We average around the 30 MPG but only do short journeys now but have had up to 45MPG on a run, modern Honda's are a lot more economical now also.. Dacia originally built Renaults in Romania but developed their own based on Renault, said to be very reliable.
Edited by Olde Farte, Dec 18 2016, 10:53 AM.
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| beowulf | Dec 18 2016, 11:14 AM Post #6 |
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Lt. Paul 'Red Dog' Rose
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is it a hatchback by any chance? im in a similar boat............swambo qualifies for a mobility car but we havnt had one yet since theres nothing wrong with the one we bought a few years ago, which funny enough is an ex-motorbility car (we got it from AvailableCar at Donnington, they are the main outlet for Mobility cars that need to be sold off when they come off the scheme) ive got a Citroen C3 Picasso 1.6 diesal.......has proved to be a brilliant car..........first diesal ive ever had and id certainly have another.........main use is me hacking to work and back but we also had to consider ease of access for swambo and since its not a low 'normal' car its perfect.......we will never go back to another low car.....if not a small mpv then it will be an suv type thingy......she fancies either a ford kuga or a kia sportage next i struggle to get below 50mpg even in town.....my best ever was 85mpg, going to work one sunday night shift, 30 mile up the A19, empty dual carriageway, drove steady 65mph and it gave me 85mpg.....amazing |
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| Mark M | Dec 18 2016, 11:16 AM Post #7 |
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Hawk T1
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Depending on the model Dacia's are a mix of Renault, Nissan and Mercedes My estate the Logan, has....... Merc chassis, Renault engine and Nissan electrics The duster is All Nissan (its quashki thingy in a new suit but 4k cheaper for exactly the same thing) |
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| madnursegaz | Dec 18 2016, 11:17 AM Post #8 |
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resin fondler
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Thanks for the input, Del. The Japanese manufacturers take part in the Motability scheme, we havn't really looked seriously at them, probably because of the way our car search has developed! We started out looking at diesel-powered MPVs with low advance payments to get a "ballpark" shortlist, and it developed from there. The Skoda Octavia is in there now purely because we went to the Skoda dealer to look at a Yeti, their little SUV, but SWMBO wasn't keen, and wandered over to the Octavia in the showroom saying "Oooh, I like this!" Ford's C-Max didn't feel right to either of us, but Jan fell for the B-Max at first sight! We sometimes find cars which would seem suitable but the door opening is the wrong shape and SWMBO's arthritis won't let her get in comfortably! The Honda Civic has a reputation for awesome reliability, whatever age or model it is! I remember the Dacia-built Renaults, they built the Renault 12 (which was my Dad's favourite car at the time) as the Dacia Denem, but they were thrown together, and got a terrible reputation for being unreliable, bits dropping off, early rust, etc. Funnily enough, the Ford B-Max is built in Romania nowadays, and doesn't have a wonderful reputation for reliability . . . EDIT:-I've just read that back, and it sounds as if I'm having a go at Romanian-built cars! I'm not, the Dacias nowadays are built to Renault's quality control standards, and there are no bad cars anyway these days- although "Monday morning" or "Friday afternoon" cars could still happen. Ford's B-Max is a strange anomaly, systems identical to the B-Max's work fine in other Ford models- their "Powershift" automatic transmission is a case in point-in the Fiesta, Ecosport and other applications it's a great 'box, but in the B-max, clutches fail, it vibrates like a vibrating thing(!),sticks in gear, drinks fuel and slows the car . . .Go figure . . . Edited by madnursegaz, Dec 18 2016, 03:21 PM.
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| Olde Farte | Dec 18 2016, 01:54 PM Post #9 |
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Lt. Derek 'Smurfy' Reeve
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It is indeed a 4 door Hatchback with a 54 Reg, lovely car. Looks brand new from outside and has just 64500 on the clock. Edited by Olde Farte, Dec 18 2016, 01:56 PM.
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| beowulf | Dec 18 2016, 02:33 PM Post #10 |
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Lt. Paul 'Red Dog' Rose
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you got a british car then lol......the hatches were made at Swindon |
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| madnursegaz | Dec 18 2016, 10:42 PM Post #11 |
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resin fondler
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We went to visit family today (as you do around Christmas) and the conversation turned to cars and Mo'bikes- bro-in-law is an RAC patrolman-knows his stuff- asked him "all else being equal, and either car meets our needs- Ford B-Max or Skoda Octavia?" Without hesitation he said the Skoda definitely. His reasoning was that as a VW group car, the mechanicals were (to quote him) "bulletproof", he also said that Ford's implementation of CANBUS multiplex wiring in the B-Max is problematic, with control functions operating the wrong systems, and needing regular re-booting or worse, re-programming! So, as soon as Christmas is over, we're off to our local Skoda dealer to arrange a test drive of an Octavia . . . |
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| Olde Farte | Dec 19 2016, 09:15 AM Post #12 |
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Lt. Derek 'Smurfy' Reeve
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Yeah I know but built to Japanese standards and it shows when compared to Fords etc. from the same era. |
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| DevilFish | Dec 20 2016, 07:47 AM Post #13 |
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LCDR Paul "Voodoo" Carter
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I do agree about the mpg. My current Mondeo 1.8tdci gives me between 48-50 mpg average. On a run I can get this higher, but 90% of my driving is to work and back. My old Honda Civic 1.4 petrol would give me around 40mpg. And, as Del stated, they never go wrong! |
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| mac1677 | Dec 20 2016, 08:01 AM Post #14 |
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Lt Mac 'Shocker' McSheffrey
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With all this talk of high MPG, I am thinking of getting rid of my car I currently have a Ford Focus ST, 5 cylinder 2.5l turbo, and I get about 21MPG around town and between 34-36MPG on the motorway...but it is fun to drive
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| DevilFish | Dec 20 2016, 08:59 AM Post #15 |
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LCDR Paul "Voodoo" Carter
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I currently have a Ford Focus ST, 5 cylinder 2.5l turbo, and I get about 21MPG around town and between 34-36MPG on the motorway...but it is fun to drive

7:31 PM Jul 11